Linval Joseph, Will Montgomery fined for incident during Giants-Redskins game

Linval Joseph started to stomp Redskins center Will Montgomery but stopped before he followed through.Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

The scrum that formed after a fumble in the Giants' 17-16 loss to the Redskins Monday night resulted in two fines, Giants defensive tackle Linval Joseph ($7,875) and Redskins center Will Montgomery ($10,000), a person with knowledge of the fines confirmed. That person requested anonymity because the league did not announce them.

Redskins running back Alfred Morris fumbled in the third quarter, and players piled up to recover the loose ball. Joseph said he saw Montgomery dive at a teammate's shoulder, so he began to pull Montgomery out of the pile by his left leg. Montgomery kicked at Joseph's groin area, after which Joseph raised his right foot to stomp on him -- but Joseph stopped himself before following through, which he admitted was a "challenge."

"I started, then I stopped. I thought about it," Joseph said after the game, explaining that he didn't want to hurt the team or get fined. "He dove on somebody's shoulder, and there was no way he was going to get the ball, so I was trying to get him off the pile."

Not surprisingly, Montgomery's account was different. Montgomery told reporters in Washington he plans to appeal the fine, via The Washington Times.

"I think I have to protect myself," Montgomery said. "If the guy is dragging me across the ground and potentially twisting my ankle or whatever else, I’m not going to let the guy drag me across the ground. And I can’t push him, obviously, because I’m on the ground, so I used my leg to get him off me."

Joseph was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play. Montgomery was not, but Redskins guard Kory Lichtensteiger was penalized for unnecessary roughness as well.

The NFL also did not fine Redskins safety Madieu Williams for his horsecollar tackle of running back Ahmad Bradshaw. Giants tackle Sean Locklear was injured on that play.